Natural Sciences

Chemistry BA / MS in Ed

Five-year program
Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry
Master of Science in Adolescence Education

Overview

This program is designed for students interested in teaching
high school Chemistry. In only five years, very good students will
be able to complete all required courses for a Bachelor of Arts in
Chemistry, a Master of Science in Education, and New York State
certification in Adolescence Education.

The Chemistry BA/MSEd program at the Mount is designed to
prepare teachers to present modern scientific concepts in an
exciting and dynamic way. The program helps to equip students with
the ability to make educated judgments when the appropriate data is
presented.

Successful graduates will receive a broad and balanced
background that addresses the standards of the National Science
Teachers Association (NSTA). All students, after successfully
completing this program will have been exposed to topics that
constitute the core competencies, advanced competencies and
supporting competencies recommended for teachers by the NSTA.

Chemistry at the Mount

Opportunities outside of the classroom. You
could be a student rep at division meetings, an officer in the
Biology and Chemistry honor societies, or participate with the
American Chemical Society student affiliate chapter on campus.
Students organize speakers, museum tours, hiking trips, campus
activities like faculty vs. student quiz bowl, and science night
for elementary school students.

A strong peer group. Chemistry majors quickly
become a part of the science community at the Mount. Students who
have majors within the Division of Natural Science take their math
and science classes together and quickly form study groups.

Peer tutoring. Science majors work together
toward a successful college career as upper-classmen serve as peer
tutors, and all students have the opportunity to get help to
support their learning efforts. Tutoring can provide you with
income, but it will also help you to build your resume and
strengthen your knowledge base.

Research. All full-time faculty members have
PhD degrees in a variety of different fields and can offer you the
opportunity to develop a research project which will help you to
apply your coursework to real problems. A research project will
enhance your knowledge and ability to integrate your learning and
will impress graduate schools and future employers.

Learning science as a process. Many of our
laboratory courses use inquiry-based collaborative learning to
introduce students to the process of science and scientific
research.

Mentoring. All science students are assigned a
full-time faculty advisor to help you explore career options, plan
your course schedule, and follow your academic progress. New
freshmen are assigned a “science sibling” before coming to campus,
so that they can ask questions of an upperclassman, student to
student.

Program Requirements

Requirements for entrance and continuing enrollment in the
five-year master’s program in Chemistry and Adolescence Education
at the Mount are:

Incoming freshmen must have completed high school biology and
chemistry, and must meet two of the following three criteria: a) 85
scholastic average in HS; b) Top 30% of their graduating class; c)
SAT scores of 1000.

Students transferring into the program (internally or
externally) must have a 3.0 cumulative average, including two
semesters of majors-level introductory chemistry with no grade in
these introductory courses lower than a B-.

Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average
throughout the five years of the program and must pass ED 2051,
Orientation to Teaching. Students who transfer ED 2051 from another
college must pass the writing assessment section of ED 2051 at
Mount Saint Mary College.

Students in the five-year master's program will be evaluated at
the end of each semester. Students who do not meet the minimum 3.0
GPA requirement in any semester will be placed on probation. Only
one probationary period will be allowed; students who fail to meet
the minimum GPA requirement for more than one semester will be
removed from the program and placed into a BA program in
Chemistry.

Students in the five-year master’s degree program may elect to
remove themselves from the program and enter a bachelor’s program
at the Mount at any time. However, no more than 6 credits of
graduate education courses may be counted toward an individual BA
degree if a student leaves the five-year master’s program for any
reason. These graduate credits may not then be used toward a
post-graduate master’s degree.

Both degrees will be awarded at the completion of the fifth
year of the program.

Career Options

According to the National Education Association (NEA), teacher
shortages are expected in science and math in New York State in the
near future.

Collegeboard.com says that “government economists expect jobs in
K–12 education to grow as fast as the average for all careers
through 2014. … Most openings will result from the retirement of
today's teachers. In 2004, almost 50 percent of all teachers were
older than 45.”

Accreditation

The Division of Education at Mount Saint Mary College is
accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher
Education (NCATE), www.ncate.org. This accreditation covers initial
teacher preparation programs and/or advanced educator preparation
programs at the College in Newburgh, New York. However, the
accreditation does not include individual education courses that
the institution offers to P-12 educators for professional
development, relicensure, or other purposes.

As part of the maintenance of NCATE accreditation, the college
is required to display data revealing the success of our programs.
The following link displays a connection to the most recent results
of Mount Saint Mary College teacher candidate “completers”
(graduates of our programs recommended for certification) on New York State Teacher
Certification Exams.